Putin says no missiles yet for Syria

June 4 - Russian President Vladimir Putin says that S-300 missile complexes have not yet been delivered to Syria. Deborah Lutterbeck reports.

▲ Hide Transcript

▶ View Transcript

Scenes from the frontline in Syria.
Rebels open fire in Qusair -- battling for control of a strategic town just miles from the Lebanese border.
The video which could not be independently verified by Reuters comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin dismisses criticism of Russian arms sales to Damascus.
He said Moscow had not yet delivered missiles that Western governments say could prolong Syria's civil war.
(SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING:
"In regard to S-300, it is indeed one of the world's best missile complexes, if not the best one. And probably it is the best one. It is a serious weapon of course. We do not want to tip the balance in the region. The contract was signed a few years ago. It has not yet been fulfilled."
Russia along with the United States hopes to hold a conference this month to help end the 26 month long conflict.
(SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING:
"What's the obstacle? The obstacle is probably the lack of goodwill among the armed opposition and inability to determine the list of participants from the armed opposition to take part in this conference. We hope that all these issues will be solved as soon as possible."
But so far, no one is backing away from the fight that has left an estimated 80,000 dead.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen riding a brown bear in mediaeval armour, cuddling a puppy and dressed as Santa Claus - it's not his latest series of publicity photos, but the artwork at a new Moscow exhibition

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: